A handicap that also recalls Jean Todt, who just like Montezemolo and Schumacher, talks of a lost title at the start of the season:
"It's trivial to say that I'm disappointed, but it's the truth, I am and very much so. We knew it would be difficult to win, but the race was harder than expected. Michael couldn't take advantage of his pole position because of a problem with the hydraulic system, a drop in pressure. In any case, perhaps he could have taken first place but not the championship. We lost that at the start of the season, when we weren't as competitive as we wanted and needed to be. However, there are positive notes: our team now knows it is strong, capable of staying at the top. We have accumulated six wins and a points total that is an all-time record for Maranello. The new car will not be a revolutionary one, but an evolution of the current one on which we have accumulated considerable experience".
Is Villeneuve's Williams-Renault stronger or Häkkinen's McLaren Mercedes? Todt replies:
"I think the McLaren-Mercedes complex was stronger than the Williams-Renault complex last season. In '97 we had arrived at the last race with a one-point lead, and with twenty minutes to go we were champions. Here we were four points behind, and things got bad for us straight away. So in my opinion it was harder to lose in Jerez than in Japan. Anyway, I want to congratulate our opponents. They are not all nice, but they are certainly strong".
Concludes the French team manager, whose task now is to make the team forget the atrocious disappointment in order to look forward to 1999, which starts already on November, Tuesday 3rd, with the tests organised by Bridgestone to allow the teams that until now have used the services of Goodyear to get a first impression of the Japanese tyres. The next day, Michael Schumacher leaves the hotel after lunch, calm and smiling, and goes to play five-a-side football. The line-up consists of Schumacher and Coulthard together with Barrichello, a German friend of Michael's and a McLaren mechanic, against Fisichella, Giovanni Minardi (Giancarlo's son), Giulio Delfino, Alexander Wurz and Benetton's fitness trainer. The match, for the record, ended 8-12. On the other hand, the misadventures of Montezemolo and Todt did not end, as they were forced to make a long, unplanned stopover on their way home due to a plane crash. At the end of the match, Schumacher, interviewed by the televisions, finds it difficult to speak, and when asked why he has this hoarse voice, the German replies:
"Maybe it's because yesterday, during that race and those starts, I was talking a lot on the radio with the pits".
But they point out to the Ferrari driver that he spent the night doing karaoke with his brother Ralf:
"What about it? Yes, we sang, but my voice wasn't working anymore, yet we had a lot of fun. Look, the Ferrari mechanics aren't worldly types, they're hard-working guys who want to spend the evening in peace with each other, so last night there was no party. We ate at the Italian restaurant and then we went to the karaoke, not even with all of them. Everyone sang there, there are some kind of booths where everyone sings on their own what they want, and Ralf and I sang. Until what time? I don't remember, we felt free and carefree, maybe we were late, because my brother is still asleep. It was a cheerful evening, we had a lot of fun, we made a lot of noise, I certainly beat Häkkinen at that. What did I feel at the second start? Do I have to be honest? I had a great desire to get on the radio and say to the pits: do something to stop this start as well. But then I realised it was nonsense, it was unsportsmanlike, so I just concentrated on the traffic lights. And this time it went well. The car is still there, I don't know if they've dismantled it, then in Maranello we'll see. These days I'm testing with the other one. Yes, of course, we'll have to see, but with that same car I got a good start and went well for all 31 laps. But there were no breakdowns. Something didn't work at the time, but it worked afterwards. Ours was an impossible mission, everything could not go perfectly. However, we didn't lose the championship at Suzuka, but in the first races: if we had done better then, everything would have been different".
This is the end of one of the most hard-fought championships in the modern history of Formula One, which paradoxically seemed already closed after the first six races, when Häkkinen, by winning in Monte-Carlo, came to boast the beauty of 22 points of advantage over Schumacher, then third in the standings behind Coulthard. Then came the sensational and unexpected rise of Ferrari and Schumacher with three victories in a row, giving life to a very tight head-to-head, spectacular but never unfair, and exciting until the end. Schumacher's experience and talent were never enough to beat McLaren's desire to return to the top, Adrian Newey's genius in designing a car that was as fast as it was reliable - the main difference with the 1997 car, which tended to break down too easily - and Mika Häkkinen's extraordinary consistency: the Finn never made any gross mistakes, he was always focused, constantly humiliating his teammate, who at the end of the season had only one win against Mika's eight, and showing all those who claimed he didn't have any, exceptional mental toughness. Yes, because those detractors had perhaps forgotten Mika's recent past, which was sufficient to highlight his mental strength. From a rookie capable of beating Ayrton Senna in his first qualifying session at the wheel of a McLaren, over the years Häkkinen has also been able to show how fast he is, despite having a McLaren far from being the one that dominated in the days of Senna and Prost. Mika had to be patient in order to have a car that would allow him to fight for the victory; in the meantime, a terrible accident in 1995 almost cost him his life, but with a determination more unique than rare, he came back the following year and immediately went to the points, immediately answering those who suspected that such an injury could have taken away something in terms of pure speed.
This is not the case, on the contrary the experience between life and death helped Mika to mature further, and in 1997 more than once he found himself close to the first victory in his career, only to be mocked due to reliability problems. After several attempts, the longed-for success arrived, although in particular conditions, at Jerez, with first Coulthard and then Villeneuve who gave up their positions in the last stages of the race. After that victory, however, Mika never stopped and this season was his definitive consecration: eight victories, nine pole positions and six fastest race laps, for a total of 100 points. Häkkinen has bordered on perfection, he has reached a very high level of competitiveness that is difficult to maintain in the years to come, especially if your opponent is called Michael Schumacher. At the same time, however, having a rival of such calibre could be a benefit for him, a further motivation to raise the bar. The challenge between the two is only on hold for a few months, after which it will start all over again in Melbourne, in March. And it will be Ferrari versus McLaren again, Mika Häkkinen versus Michael Schumacher, at least until mid-season. Not even the time to celebrate its new World Champion, that on November 3rd, 1998, Formula 1 is already projected towards the new season. At Suzuka, where the last round of the World Championship was staged, which saw Mika Häkkinen getting the better of Michael Schumacher at the end of a duel that went on for the whole season and fought point by point, the teams immediately set to work to test the Bridgestone tyres with four grooves also on the front (in 1998 there were three for the front tyres and four for the rear ones); important tests above all because after Goodyear's departure, the Japanese company will become the only tyre supplier of the championship. With one hundred and twenty-one laps covered in two days, the vice World Champion Michael Schumacher admits he is satisfied with the behaviour of the Japanese tyres, a novelty for Ferrari, Goodyear's historical customer until a few days before:
"The Bridgestone tyres I tried here satisfy me quite well. The Ferrari's performance has not deteriorated as we expected, indeed we have already managed to improve it with appropriate adjustments. The final test, however, should be in one of the three test moments already planned for December in Spain. However, these tests with the four-groove front tyres are important, because they were our first contact with the new supplier, and they allowed us to evaluate the behaviour of the front tyres with which we will be racing in 1999. It is impossible to compare Goodyear and Bridgestone immediately. The first feeling is that they are good tyres even if they have a harder compound, less grip than the old ones and consequently give a lower performance. For us it's more difficult because we've been used to working with the methods of Goodyear's engineers for years and now it's hard to get used to the Japanese ones. Unfortunately, they only gave us three sets of tyres and that's not enough time to understand the differences from one brand to another".
And he adds:
"But we will move forward, and I hope to do so throughout the year in good spirits because being bitter about the past is useless, especially not to change the past. I'm not going down, I'm heading straight ahead. Initially I was worried about this news. I still remember very well the disappointment I felt last winter when I tested grooved tyres for the first time. The car was difficult to drive then. It was impossible to do more than five or six laps in a row with acceptable times. This time, on the contrary, I can already assure you that the difference between the three and four grooves on the front tyres is great. Of course, Bridgestone will need to prepare front tyres with a harder compound to satisfy the FIA, but for now, the impression is good".
The fastest driver at the end of the test (even though he set the best time on three-grooved tyres) is David Coulthard, who was rather critical of the new tyres at the end of the first day:
"Today I had the worst time since I've been in Formula 1, these new four-groove tyres are madness: the car can't be controlled anymore, it's difficult even to go straight: this will end up ruining Formula 1".
But over the next few days of work, his judgement softens:
"Bridgestone has adapted the tyres to the '99 regulations in an appropriate and technically interesting way. I leave Suzuka with the feeling that these first tyres will benefit from developments. They will fit like a tailor-made suit to our new car, which is already at an advanced design stage".
In Japan, there is also room for a curious little joke, which sees Jean Alesi running towards Schumacher, exclaiming:
"Faruk, Faruk, my friend, come here, I want to hug you".
Michael looks at him from afar, looks around and waits for Alesi. To the astonished Schumacher, the French-Sicilian driver tells the story of the Algerian newspaper, defined as governmental, according to which Michael and his brother Ralf (originally named Hassan) were not born near Cologne at all but in Bilda, south of Algiers, to a German mother and an Algerian father. At an early age, back in Germany with their mother, they would find another father who is Rolf. What is really funny in this matter is the fact that the Algerian newspaper, having made the sensational discovery after an alleged week of investigations, published the photos of the Schumacher presumed father, that is the aforementioned Rolf. The affair leads to colossal laughter, at the end of which Schumacher decides to give Alesi a new name, calling him Mohammed:
"If I am Algerian, I am German, what are you Sicilian?"
Funny little jokes aside, to learn more about the new tyres that will be available to all the teams for the 1999 season, we have to wait until December, during which three test sessions are scheduled, two in Barcelona (from December 1st to 4th, 1998, and from 15th to 17th) and one in Jerez (from 8th to 10th). The sessions are not attended by the newly crowned champion Mika Häkkinen, who, after November, marked by celebrations and publicity events, leaves all the work in the hands of his teammate Coulthard and the young test driver Nick Heidfeld.
Ferrari, on the other hand, put both its two regular drivers, Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine, and test driver Luca Badoer on track. There was also a lot of work to be done by Williams, but not only in terms of tyres and the 99's car, as there was Alex Zanardi. Emigrated a few years before to the United States where he won the Formula CART Championship twice, he had the absolute need to grind kilometres to regain the necessary confidence to push to the maximum, together with the other new Williams's purchase, Ralf Schumacher, coming from Jordan. Surely absent for the first tests in Barcelona are Benetton, engaged in the inauguration of the new wind tunnel, and BAR, a debuting team born from the ashes of Tyrrell. In addition to McLaren, Ferrari and Williams, Jordan, Sauber, Prost and Minardi will also be at Montmeló. The subject of tyres remains the focal point, both because of an extremely hard compound requested by the FIA, which is not so much appreciated by the drivers, and because Bridgestone makes it known that it doesn't want to make crazy economic efforts that it cannot afford, meaning they are not going to produce an immense number of tyres, therefore asking the teams for a huge reduction in testing. If no agreement is reached, there is even a risk that the other two test sessions scheduled for December will be cancelled. At Montmeló, meanwhile, each team is supplied with just three sets of tyres per day per driver, rising to five if the team has two cars. These are new, much harder compounds, made to slow down the car's performance by three or four seconds a lap, but as mentioned above, the drivers don't like them. Some, like Coulthard, joke about it, saying:
"With these tyres I could run until July without stopping".
The times, however, at least for the moment, proved the FIA right, as Luca Badoer's best time on the first day was four seconds more than Häkkinen's pole in May on the same circuit (1'20"262). On December 2nd, 1998, the F300 is driven by Michael Schumacher, who takes four laps to record the best overall performance. The German, who during the day was the protagonist of an off-track at the Seat corner (as a result of which he slightly damaged the car), at the end of the day expressed his scepticism about the new tyres:
"In this situation the car is slippery and, as happened to me, all it takes is one gust of wind to lose control. Also, the aerodynamics are very disturbed, and this prevents you from overtaking. Unfortunately, it's the FIA's decision, and we have to respect it. We drivers have a different opinion, but it's obvious because for people who have never driven these cars it's difficult to feel what we feel".
FIA President Max Mosley dismisses the drivers' complaints, saying:
"Last year it was the same. The drivers complain, then in the middle of the season they are as fast as the year before. It's better not to jump to conclusions. The FIA wants to reproduce the same behaviour in the dry as in the wet: low grip. This will give an advantage to the best drivers, who will be able to overtake more easily, while the less skilled ones will make more mistakes".
On December 8th, 1998, at the Hilton Hotel at the Terminal 4 of London's Heathrow Airport, the top management of the teams met with Mosley himself and FOCA President Bernie Ecclestone. The hot topics were obviously the supply of tyres, the division of TV rights, and the calendar for the next season, with the Chinese Grand Prix, to be held at Zhuhai, ready to be postponed because the facilities did not meet the required standards, just as the cancellation of the Argentine Grand Prix seemed certain, due to economic problems. At the end of the meeting, Max Mosley took his leave of the journalists with a quick:
"Everything is fine, everything is going according to plan".
But the truth is that an agreement to approve a reduction in the number of tyres supplied, and therefore of the test sessions, has not yet been reached. There are those, like Ferrari and Williams, who point to the differentiation between collective and private testing, while those, like McLaren, espouse the policy outlined by Bridgestone. In the meantime, from London comes a heavy attack by Damon Hill against Michael Schumacher. The former World Champion, now at Jordan, gave an interview to the Times newspaper in which he declared:
"Schumacher works on the psychological aspect, he digs inside you with insinuations through the press. In 1994 he said I wasn't a top driver just before our final clash. He's always been like that: he knows that the more worried you are, the more you want to beat him. That year I had a conversation with him in the paddock. I told him he had a lot of talent. He listened, but I don't think he understood: I don't think he ever understands anything. Schumacher is there to win, no matter what. The difference between the Senna-Prost rivalry and the Hill-Schumacher rivalry is that I was never valued by my opponent. In 1995 I almost finished my career, just because I lost to Michael. He feels like Goliath: he's full of disdain for his enemies, it's as if he's saying: ‘Why are you putting these mortals in front of me?’. There's nothing I like less than arrogance. This year, at the Canadian Grand Prix, he said that I had tried to kill him by zigzagging while he was trying to overtake. All this in the race in which he had run Frentzen off the track".
Despite the uncertain situation, the teams go to Jerez anyway, where between December 10th and 12th, 1999, the tests scheduled by the International Federation take place regularly. Schumacher and Ferrari are the ones who produce the most kilometres, without running into any problems whatsoever. The two-time world champion concentrates on tyres and weight distribution, driving the standard version of the F300; it's Luca Badoer's turn to work on the long-wheelbase version. The amount of data collected is so much that Ferrari can forego the third test session in Barcelona, two weeks later. In Catalunya there is instead the newborn BAR, whose debut on the track was originally planned at Silverstone a few days before, but it was then postponed due to Bridgestone's refusal to supply the tyres, as part of its cost-containment policy. However, before returning to the track, on December 12th, 1998, the FIA organised its end-of-year gala in Monte Carlo. Among the main protagonists of the evening was Mika Häkkinen, who was called on stage by Max Mosley at the moment of receiving his trophy. The Finn watched the season's film in a religious silence, showing his best performances of the year: from his victory in Melbourne, through his success in Germany, to his perfect finale at the Nurburgring and then Suzuka. Then he received the trophy, kissed it, raised it to the sky and took his leave to the applause of those present. The new reigning champion explained to journalists how he had spent the last few weeks:
"I have just come back from a series of meetings with sponsors and advertisers. Having completed my commitments in Italy, I am going on holiday to the Caribbean. In these days I have slept very little, also because on Thursday we celebrated Keke Rosberg's birthday until dawn".
McLaren Mercedes team manager Ron Dennis, talking about his driver, says he does not doubt that he will continue to maintain the highest levels:
"Mika has improved a lot, he has matured, and we are sure that he will guarantee us many successes".
The next day, at the Autosprint Golden Helmets award ceremony in Bologna, there was a surprise waiting for Mika Häkkinen. With a blitz by helicopter from Maranello, Michael Schumacher first appears backstage and then on stage, to the delight of the many Ferrari fans who had come for the occasion. The two rivals exchange a smile, then venture a few words in Italian.
"Good morning".
The former ventures.
"A pizza".
The other replied. Before leaving, Michael tries to say a few more words, and although without supporting articles, he completes a meaningful sentence:
"Possibly next year will be a good year for us".
A simple phrase, but enough to send the fans into raptures. Häkkinen, on the other hand, although not in Italian, talks about the importance of becoming champion, and his expectations for the '99 season:
"Winning the world championship has changed my life, of course. But it will be important to keep my feet firmly on the ground: as a champion, it's easy to have everyone's attention, and you can lose your head. To avoid that you have to be hard on yourself. Next year the fight won't necessarily be just between Michael and me: apart from him, I'll certainly have to fear my teammate Coulthard. But there are other champions to watch out for: Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve above all".
Finally, regarding Schumacher's unexpected visit, he admits:
"Being given the award by Michael surprised me: it was a fantastic gesture, a gesture of friendship that is good for Formula One, but honestly I hope I don't have to return the favour next year".
On December 15th, 1998, the Supertec-powered BAR - an engine designed by Renault Sport, built by Mecachrome and sold by Flavio Briatore - makes its debut on the Montmeló circuit, with Jacques Villeneuve, the first driver and secret shareholder of the team together with former manager Craig Pollock, taking BAR01 onto the track. A bitter debut, lasting just fifteen kilometres, because the car with Reynard chassis, McLaren-style nose and still provisional colours, after just three and a half laps has to deal with a gearbox failure. A disappointed Craig Pollock tells the press:
"These failures are natural because it's a new car, which is why we asked Bridgestone to let us test it last week at Silverstone. It's one thing to go back to the factory from there, it's another to do it a few thousand kilometres away".
Villeneuve is also visibly annoyed and lashes out at Bridgestone, just as Pollock had done:
"They have already made us lose a month and a half of work because the car was ready a week ago and now, if we lose these tests too, we will have to wait until January to solve the typical problems of the new cars".
On the second day of testing things are not much better. The Canadian's BAR lost its bonnet twice, and then the rear wing flew off. All this in just six laps. According to the team, the problems are due to the excessive vibrations caused by the 10-cylinder Supertec.
The problems, however, are not only of a technical nature, since the main backer of the team directed by Craig Pollock, manager of the Canadian driver, is taking legal action against the FIA because he believes that the latter is limiting the freedom of ideas and action in making the most of British American Tobacco's sponsors:
"We have tried in every way to solve this problem, which we consider vital, but the FIA has not offered us any chance to change this rule. So we have been forced to take legal action. I believe that our team has already demonstrated that it has done everything possible to become a serious and competitive competitor in Formula 1, so we intend to continue on this path to protect all our interests".
There was a slight improvement during the third day, with Villeneuve managing to run seventeen laps before having to stop again due to a radiator explosion.
"I drove the car for three days in Barcelona and I was thrilled. We achieved the fourth fastest overall lap time without making any special adjustments or looking for performance. Since in these cases it is the first impression that counts, I am very optimistic. I like the car, and I am happy with the environment in our team. We work hard and with a very positive mentality. I think we will be among the major players in 1999".
Says the 1997 World Champion, who stopped at 1'23"360, seven tenths from the best time set by Ralf Schumacher, who up to now has been consistently faster than his teammate Alex Zanardi, who for his part is not alarmed:
"I would be worried if we were the slowest ever and I was going even slower, but that is not the case. I just need time to get to know the car and the team".
The last kilometres covered by the Formula One cars in December 1998 are characterised by David Coulthard, who takes to the track in the morning wearing a Santa hood tied to his helmet. The Scotsman reminds everyone that it's time to call it a day for a couple of weeks and relax, before returning to Formula One in January, when the presentations of the new cars begin. To put behind him the bitterness of a championship that could have gone the way of Maranello, the president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, during the classic Christmas dinner with the specialist press, decides to give space to irony:
"Next year will be transitional. After two seasons at the top, it's time to reflect. All in all, we will renovate everything: Jean Todt, the car, the drivers, Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, the engineers, the entire team".
Says the Ferrari president, to which the journalists respond with astonished faces.
"No, I'm joking. The aim is to be competitive from the first race".
Accompanied by a willingness to joke, Montezemolo gives the order to give away a Christmas hamper containing an object for each race, including a detail of the F300 with the label and the inscription:
"Engine bearing from the Australian Grand Prix, beware, it is indigestible".
To recall what happened in Melbourne shortly after the start, when Michael Schumacher was forced to retire precisely because of the failure of this engine component, accompanied by a plastic bottle of mineral water from Spa. But in addition to this, there are also three bottles of sparkling wine for as many pole positions, 133 Emilian tortellini (one for each point won), a piece of Parmesan cheese for the energy accumulated in the six fast laps achieved in the race, the one-two wins in Monza and Magny Cours celebrated with panettone-torrone and zampone-lentils (typical Italian dishes), and finally doli jams, mustards and fruit in alcohol to celebrate the six victories. A nice idea, with the hope that next year the basket can be filled only with pastries and sparkling wine.
"The opponents are strong. I always fear McLaren, but also a return of Williams. And we also have to keep an eye on Jordan with the Honda engine and Benetton, which I think has no intention of giving up. Rocco Benetton is young and needs to gain experience, but he will prove his worth. The 1999 Ferrari will be an evolution of the F300, based on what we could do to improve it. It was already going very well at the end of the season. The engine will also be a step forward compared to the 047 that we will supply to Sauber. The car will be presented between January 27th and 29th. We don't want to speed things up too much, so it's better to come out well prepared. On the contrary, the car won't go on the track straight away, but we'll be working on development straight away, so as not to make any mistakes".
And concerning the diatribe on limited testing, at the behest of Bridgestone, the chairman said:
"We will do all the tests planned with the other teams, but we will all also have two hundred sets of tyres available over the year, which we will use to work on the car as we please, on the tracks that belong to us, namely Fiorano and Mugello. We agree to the reduction in the number of testing days, but we want to have freedom".
The only controversial note of the evening concerned the use of dangerous materials in Formula 1:
"Beryllium, banned by the FIA because of its high level of harmfulness, went out the door and came back in through the window. They tell me it is used to make engine parts".
In addition to this, Ferrari has to respond to the heavy accusations made by former consultant Niki Lauda from Germany via the Bunte newspaper:
"It is a disgrace that Ferrari has with it what is undoubtedly the best driver in Formula 1 but cannot even give him a halfway successful car. Imagine that next year Michael, due to technical problems, fails to become World Champion. What would happen? That Michael will announce his move to another team, or even stop racing. Either way, from that moment on, Ferrari would start a rapid decline".
Then he is asked to explain, with his experience as a former Ferrari man, who he thinks is to blame for the Prancing Horse's long world fast. Lauda does not hesitate to point the finger at Maranello's team principal, Jean Todt:
"I myself brought Todt to Ferrari, so I know him well. And I can say that he is egocentric. He wants to decide everything himself, and he did everything he could to get me ousted from my role as advisor to the president. It's time for those at the top of Ferrari to make things clear for themselves and finally understand who they must thank for Schumacher's failure".
However, on January 8th, 1999, Jean Todt ignores Lauda's words, and talking about the new season declares:
"We have a strong team, and it continues to work for us as it is. Nobody leaves. We just work, one meeting after another to make this new car. The new Ferrari that you will see on January 29th, 1999, is all new, you can tell by looking at it. It's longer, thinner and also lighter, but you can't see that to the eye. The regulations are now stable and there are no longer the worries of last year. The cars will all look more similar. And it's logical: when the rules change, in the first year everyone interprets them as they want, while now everyone will copy the best and all the cars will be the same. Ferrari has also been copied. Ailerons and many other things that we did well were seen and incorporated. But it's not a fault, it's normal, it always worked like that. And we didn't have a car to throw away. Then, let's be clear, it can also happen that someone invents something new, and that's normal in Formula 1".
Asked if it's true that Ferrari has made a completely new engine, Todt replies:
"Are you kidding me? Assuming and not conceding what you write in the newspapers, namely that Ferrari is full of money, are we crazy? Making a new engine every year? No, all we have is an evolution of the '98 engine. An engine is never the same, every time you go on track you try something new and eventually things progress. That's the evolution. An engine that was great before, is great now, there is no reason to make a new one".